Gallery: Ten garden plants you can actually eat

Hungry gardeners have been told to pull up the weeds and prune the flowers to cook up cheap and unusual meals and snacks this spring.

BillyOh.com has researched the unlikely garden plants that you can safely eat and have produced a list of the ten that we are most likely to find in our own backyards.

UK gardens provide thousands of small animals, birds and insects with sufficient food each and every year, but many Brits won’t realise that their gardens may actually be harbouring some tasty treats for humans too.

Some of the most unlikely snacks and ingredients include the common dandelion weed, and a bouquet favourite – the carnation.

A spokesperson for BillyOh.com said: “If you’re lucky enough to boast a plethora of colourful flowers in your garden, you might be surprised to learn that some may not only be a treat for the eyes.

“Violets, pansies and primrose are all flowers that look and smell amazing, but if you take the right part of the flower, they can taste great and be a real treat for your taste buds too!

“With that being said, we definitely don’t want to give off the impression that you should be going around nibbling every garden flower and plant you see.

“Though we’ve listed the specific parts of some plants that are safe to eat, we recommend doing your research before branching out to try any others as some, like foxglove, larkspur and oleander, carry some really nasty side effects if consumed.”